Reel Truth with Krista Richmond

We all wonder if the grass is greener on the other side.

I suppose that’s just human nature – to speculate about the possibilities. What’s interesting, though, is that we simultaneously want it and fear it.

Everyone dreams about the perfect job … or the perfect place to live … or what we’d do if we suddenly won the lottery. And we also – deep in the back of our minds – worry about being replaced by someone better.

I don’t think these daydreams are a bad thing. After all, striving toward something better often makes us better people in the process. You just have to remember that things aren’t always as they seem.

In Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson’s character, Gil, gets to live out his daydreams each night. He goes on some incredible adventures and meets some incredible people. For a while, he thinks he’s found exactly what he’s been missing. But what he finds is that what he has idealized doesn’t really live up to that idealization. What’s interesting is that even though he’s disillusioned, to some extent, Gil still holds on to his dreams. In fact, he comes through his experience even more motivated to act on them. That’s a lesson I think we all could learn.

His disillusionment certainly has an impact on his relationship with his fiancée Inez, played by Rachel McAdams. She can’t understand why he’s so devoted to his dreams, and he can’t understand why she has so few dreams. As a result, he starts to wonder if he would be better without her.

Wondering if the grass is greener gets a little murky when it comes to romance, mostly because it leads to some difficult questions.

Do I settle for what I have now, or do I wait for something better?

Do I want solid, steady companionship or hot, steamy passion?

Do I stay, or do I go?

The answer isn’t simple.

I’m a big believer in intuition (being a woman and all …), so I think the answers lie in what your gut tells you. Sometimes you really do just … know. And that’s what I’m waiting for.